Cisco's UK boss on virtual working, Brexit and where UK tech is a world leader

David Meads was appointed Cisco UK chief exec in February this year

Cisco's UK chief exec David Meads has praised the UK channel for its innovation during the pandemic, claiming the UK tech sector is the world leader in many areas.

Speaking to CRN, Meads disagreed with the sentiment that the UK and European tech markets follow the lead of the US.

He highlighted the fast work carried out by Cisco and its partners to build the NHS Nightingale Hospitals earlier in the year as a salient example.

"I'm not sure I would say the US market leads; I think some of the innovation that we see from Europe, particularly in the UK, is world class," he said.

"With the Nightingale one of the outcomes was that we designed and built a blueprint for how we did it and we exported that blueprint out to the North Americans and the Europeans.

"That's just one example of where forward thinking and future thinking is alive and kicking in the UK, so I don't think we are a follower in any way, shape or form."

Meads re-emphasised Cisco's desire to see partners building their own IP on top of Cisco platforms, citing Block, which worked with the vendor on the Nightingale project, and Natilik as examples of partners that have done this successfully.

The chief exec said that Cisco will use its global reach to help scale a partners' innovation where appropriate.

"If we look at some of the things our partners do, if there are things we can replicate on a wider scale, whether it's with our distribution market or small business partners, we will look at taking best practice and replicating it while respecting the IP of the originating partner.

"I think that's one of the beauties of our business model. When you can take the wisdom of the crowd it's incredible to see what you can achieve."

But Meads added that there is still a place in the partner ecosystem for traditional VARs.

"Others will continue to focus on a more horizonal marketplace because maybe resale is more their thing, and we need that because the market requires scale as well as specialisation," he said.

Meads took on the UK CEO role at Cisco in February this year, just a few weeks before the first national lockdown.

He had previously been VP of the EMEAR partner organisation for around half a year, and prior to that had senior roles in the Middle East and Africa.

The chief exec said he's frustrated that he's not been able to get in a room with partners as much as he'd have liked to early in his tenure but added that virtual interactions have been productive.

"You can get access to some people that you wouldn't always have access to because you know they're going to be at the other end of their device," he said.

"It's difficult to benchmark productivity against the norm because I had only been in the role five weeks [prior to lockdown], but I've been in Cisco a long time to know what productivity looks like. I think with partners and customers we've been as productive as ever, if not more so," he said.

"One thing we have to be careful of is that interactions aren't too transactional. Very often you'll have an hour scheduled on WebEx with an agenda and you'll forego the anecdotal conversation. So we have to make sure we create time for some of that conversation because that is how you build relationships.

"But being able to have meaningful dialogue around how we want to take initiatives. forward has, if anything, been helped through this. It certainly hasn't been encumbered."

Brexit

Meads said he had expected there to be an element of uncertainty in the market when he took over the role, but more so from Brexit than a pandemic.

He told CRN that Cisco is in regular contact with the UK government and preparing for all potential eventualities.

"Fortunately, we have some bright people at Cisco, whether it's in the back office, the operational side or government affairs," he said.

"We try to have regular conversations with the government to understand the direction of travel and we plan for all scenarios, with our without a trade deal.

"That has stood us in good stead and we are ready to move in whichever direction the outcome takes us."